Brew Masters Private Reserve | Anheuser-Busch

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Decades ago, Budweiser brewmasters started a tradition. During the holidays, they'd collect the purest liquid from the brewing kettles; pre-sparged, first wort. This first stock - unusually smooth and rich despite its robust alcohol - was reserved for A-B friends and family, until now. Note from the brewers: this an all-malt beer; NO rice or corn. Imported hops. 20 Plato. It's also a completely different recipe than Budweiser.

Reviews by NeroFiddled:

Appearance: Clear golden-amber body. Full, frothy white head. The head retention and lacing could be better, but with 8.5% alcohol combating that it's to be expected.

Smell: Loaded with malt character. It's rich and grainy with a little bit of a toasty and nutty side - like Munich malt. Sweetish notes are present but not candyish (cookie dough, cake, melted white chocolate, waffles sans syrup). Some hops are present but fairly indistinguishable. They come and they go, a little bit floral, very mildly grassy, and ever so slightly spicy. A suggestion of alcohol is present but never really shows itself.

Taste: As found in the nose. The sweetish and nutty (almond, macadamia) malt dominates, but it is smeared with herbal, floral, and gently grassy and spicy hops. It's bitterness lies just above balancing, and at first it teeters back and forth between sweetish malt and drying hop bitterness and alcohol. As you progress through the glass, however, the alcohol will overcome your palate and it becomes more focused - but in a tunnel-vision kind of way, meaning that you're not really seeing all that's there.

Mouthfeel: Dextrinous but not overly full, it falls somewhere in the medium-full bodied range. Alcohol helps to balance that somewhat, and it's very-fine bubbled, somewhat restrained carbonation leaves it quite smooth across the palate.

Drinkability: This is an engaging beer that requires your attention upfront; satiates you with its richness; and then numbs you with its hidden alcohol. Beyond one serving it starts to build on the palate with a combination of dull residual malt, alcohol, and herbal/spicy hops. The initial tastes, although somewhat widespread in character, are better than the more alcohol-focused palate that appears later on. So it becomes a hedonistic question of 'would you want another one?'

Overall: If there was a stronger hop presence here this could be a classic! With just a little more in the nose, and a nice dollop in the flavor, it could move into the realm of a blonde doppelbock. Nice. Enjoyable. But limited.

More User Reviews:

This is A-B's take on the brewmaster's holiday tradition, where they take the &#64257; rst runnings of sweet wort and ferment a big, bold beer out of it. Speaking of big, the bottle is enormous!

Beer pours a shimmering, clear, golden color, a good white head from the start, and a semi-stick lace for the rest. Suggestions of honey, whole-grain bread, grainy animal feed and a clean perfume-like alcohol and hop collaboration make up the aroma. Very smooth mouth feel, a touch creamy in the &#64258;uffy body. Flavors of Portuguese sweetbread and a barleymalt syrup, not condensed wort, hone in on the taste buds. Alcohol warms a bit more after each sip, lending a strawberry-like &#64258;avor. The hop bitterness is enough to balance, but the herbal &#64258;avor is more interesting. Aftertaste lands semi-sweet, with a rough grain, herbal hop and the complexities from the alcohol.

So with 46.5 ounces of high-alcohol brew on our hands, what else is there to do but drink it? Actually several brats were steamed in this brew--a good pairing, no doubt. It's not a malt liquor, not an over-hopped Double Pilsner, and certainly not the bigger brother of Budweiser. It's a tasty, big-ass American All-Malt Lager in a big-ass bottle. Enough said.

this is a good beer. WOW suprisingly from budweiser at that. Go figure they can brew something good. But seriously this is a serious beer. It has a good flavor, it's very drinkable, hides the 8.5% very well. It's apperance and smell are upto par with higher end beers. Persentation on this is very good. I have to commend AB on this one, this is one damn good beer.

Taste: Very smooth taste and feel. Sweet doughy maltiness , lightly toasted grain , very clean , has some similarities to a regular bud just with more flavor. Just a very faint bit of pleasant fruitiness , nicely hidden alcohol. Some light hops round out the sweet malts in the finish.

Mouthfeel: soft and smooth.

Drinkability: I wish this is what regular budweiser tasted like. Basically an example of what AB could do if they wanted , but why would they when they make so much cash off bud light! A refreshing glimpse none the less. Quite drinkable , and the abv is almost completly hidden.

Clear bronze-ish-gold color, nice mousse-like head of almost an inch in height (a big contrast to Michelob Celebrate). Admirable lacing, good patterns on the glass. Light caramel aroma, slightly detergent notes. Medium mouthfeel -- a feel of slickness with light coating qualities, carbonation is subtle, not too gassy, pretty well-done. Subtle malt flavors, some maple, sugary with light aspects of caramel and a slight tobacco bittering. Clean presentation from the beginning to the end. Alcohol is fairly well-hidden. Just a dusting of dried hops, but I wouldn't ask for a large hop impression in a beer that's leaning in an attenuated pale malt Bock direction. This beer is attractive, interesting, and quite drinkable, it doesn't deserve any derision based on its brewer. Better than Michelob Celebrate in many ways.

Appears a bright sunshine golden tone with a large off white head leaves even lacing around my chalice. Aroma has green apples, some tropical fruits blended in with alcoholic herbal hop tones but really comes of like well made malt liquor...Flavor is very sweet some clean malt layers with creamy corn and rice a bit one dimensional...not as many fruit notes in the flavor as in the aroma making it even more like a malt liquor. Mouthfeel is a bit syrupy with a medium body overall and even carbonation giving it a creamy texture. Drinkability definitely some decent stuff I'm down, a nice beer from the big brewers definitely decent for AB I didn't hate every second of drinking it.

Taste: This is essentially a classic Bud with a bigger, sweeter malt flavor and a mild alcohol kick. Overall wheatie and yeastie tasting with a bigger herbal and leafy hop finish that is a bit more pleasing than the traditional brew.

MF: light to medium body overall and the bubbles in the beginning make it feel lively and also very substantial but without a real bite and much more subtle on the palate than you would expect.

DA: This purchase was pure curiousity as I was paying for gas at 7-11. Easily the best AB product I've had, but I will not be going back for seconds. The 8.5% ABV is kinda creeper, so watch it!

Pours a golden amber color with a rich white head that does leaves a decent amount of lacing around the side of the glass. Aroma is much like a Budweiser but more profound and much maltier. Taste has a really nice clean maltiness to it that finishes with a quick dose of hops and a soothing warming feeling from the alcohol. Mouthfeel is light-medium bodied with some creaminess to it. Overall, certainly not a bad brew from Anheuser-Busch. In fact, I will likely pick up a bottle next year.

I gave this as a gift to a Budweiser "zealot" over the holidays. This beer is beautifully packaged and bottled. It opened with a loud "pop" and was very highly carbonated.
It poured with a white, full head that settled down quickly in the goblet and left traces of lacing. The beer was clean and clear.
It smelled to me like the beechwood they brag about, but now one could actually register it as it tasted sweet yet malty.
The beer itself is extremely drinkable, everyone who had some commented that they wished all Budweiser tasted this good.

Pours a brilliant golden color. A tight light foam top that clings to the glass fairly well. Hop presense is light but there. Nice aromas of fruit and malt. Very clean taste as well. Slight sweetness in the finish with a light lingering alcohol burn. Way too drinkable but nice for someone like Budweiser to try out.

By far the best Bud product I have ever tasted. Why can't all Budwisers taste this good. I am still surprised that an Anheuser-Busch product could taste like this. Anheuser-Busch should really consider making this there new Budwiser. Then they would truly be the king of beers.

Dark golden hue with a massive frothy white head; decent retention and patchy lacing, for not the head, one would be reminded of a simple draught bud pour. Good nose--cookie dough, syrup, faint dark roasted malts, rum soaked raisins. Taste--see the nose; very crisp, sharp dark roasted malts, in your face alcoholic notes, yet they fade quick. Sweet malts, tender grassy/medicinal hops. Under the radar tastings of banana peel and pear juice with hints of sweet caramel and dry sticky malts. A pleasant alcohol warmth barges in and is more than welcome. The palate is left full of spicy and apple peel notes, with a more than cleansing affect. This one was enjoyable and worth the pickup. Check your expectations at the door and enjoy!

Deep gold color with a thick white head. The foam slowly fades and produces a thin lace until the end of the glass. Aroma of green grapes and honey. A bit sweet, and a slight twang of grass. But as much as I hate to say, there is that typical AB aroma mixed in. Maybe it is me but who knows, Taste is smooth and has a touch of the green grapes and malt. Missing hops, but not a bad beer . The 8+_% is nicely hidden and this beer is crisp and fresh. Overall not bad.

Now AB has a hint of what a real beer drinker likes. If and I do mean IF they change their ways ..

Shared this huge bottle with fellow BA Hhawk06. This malt lager pours a golden blonde that leaves a thick white lace and some stickiness that a "regular" budweiser could only dream of making. Upon opening the bottle the malty sweetness vanilla, baked brown sugar, cooked white sugar, angel food cake all come to mind it is amazingly complex.

The body is clear and vibrant, very nice some slight carbonation bubbles can be seen through the lager. The aroma is light and fruity, some mild hop presence is definatly in the nose. The taste on the palate is fresh, clean, as if it was poured right from the tap amazing.

Some slight carbonation refreshes the palate, the lager starts smooth with a sweet malt charachter of cake, sugar, and moves to a small bitter hop aspect. This beer is great, fresh and clean. If only they can brew some more like this.

"Born on date" of November 1, 2005. The beer pours a yellow/orange color with a good sized white head. The aroma is sweet, mainly malt and yeast with a little grassy smell too. This beer is very sweet tasting, mainly like malt and caramel. The mouthfeel is medium, almost kinda creamy how it coats my mouth. The drinkability is average to good. I think it might have been better if I wouldn't have waited so long to drink this one. Overall, it's better than normal Budweiser products, but it's just an average/good beer, nothing great at all.

Popped the swing top on a 32 oz. bottle. A nice head forms on the pour and quickly dissapates leaving a little ring around the top. Pours a clear pale in color, darker than your average pilsner, but barely. Did I mention it was clear?

The aroma is of brown sugar and malt, and so is the taste. Right up front you are greeted with a nice malty sweetness. I think there is definitely some brown sugar of some sort in here. A little hop bitterness stops by to say hello at the finish but leaves almost immediately.

The mouthfeel is very thick, quite full bodied, but enough carbonation that it is not too much I think. The taste lingers for a very short moment.

Overall this is an enjoyable brew. I didn't know what to expect from this company but this is pleasing. If I pay $8 for it again, however, it will be just as much for the bottle as for the beer.

OK, notwithstanding the proviso in the style description that this is an "all-malt" beer without any corn or rice, it basically tasted like a thicker Budweiser with some aroma hops tossed in. It was certainly thicker and maltier than the commercial product, but still had a certain bluntness that makes commercial Bud so unappealing. The late (dry?) hop addition did make a nice contribution however, adding a prominent spicy hop aroma and flavor. Probably still wouldn't buy it if I saw it on a supermarket shelf.

Pours out a light straw color and very clear. Lots of carbonation. Evident when you pop the top open.
Smell is slightly yeasty and if the malt is here I can't smell it very well. Lemon rind and slight grapfruit.
Taste is kinda sweet. Caramel maltiness followed by just a slight hop flavor then the alcohol warms the back of the throat.
Mouthfeel is very clean and that is too bad cause there is nothing memorable to retain in the mouth. Very bland.
Being a bud drinker this is a little better but not much..
This Quart will be a hard swallow. I can't believe this will taste any better if it were cellared for the 365 days.